Pre-Premier League

David Lacey (Sport, 2 February) draws an interesting comparison between Football League Division One in the early 1980s, which was – if gates and finances are any indicator – a basket case, and today's Premier League, which has been the source of some unrest in parliament with the publication of recent comments from the culture, media and sport committee calling for further regulation on financial matters. But Mr Lacey was mistaken on one aspect: he cited a report of 1983 into the structure and finances of the Football League which said "the market for professional football has shrunk and at some stage surgery may be needed". "But," concluded Mr Lacey, "nobody suggested breaking up the Football League."

This is not so, for the 1983 report – the second inquiry into football by the eminent academic Sir Norman Chester – recommended that the Football League be restructured as 64 clubs only at the head, with the remainder forming an intermediate league along with leading non-league clubs of the day. This seems like pretty drastic surgery to me – and probably the reason why Chester's report joined his earlier effort gathering dust in League chairmen's boardrooms.Graham KellyFormer chief executive, FA (1988-98)